An Update From Jolene

Will did a wonderful job updating you all about our travels and first few days here in Chad (encore to him, right?).  It has been an eventful few days with so much that happened that it seems like we’ve been here for a week at least.  We already feel endeared to the Chadians and the other volunteer missionaries.

Bekki put Will to work the afternoon we got in from our 8 hour bus ride to Moundou.  She did allow him to eat first, but they both have a lot to learn and do together that she went right down to business taking him around to the different patients and their cases.  I went along for the fun of it and to see the wards and patients.  I had prepared myself to see some pretty disgusting things while I was here, so I braced myself for the worst.  But, it really wasn’t that bad walking around with Will and Bekki…

…Until Friday morning during rounds.  Will and I thought it would be good to see how rounds go and watch the wound care and dressing changes.  The day before, everyone’s wounds were bound up, but that morning they were undressed for the doctor to see them.  If any of you have seen the pictures on Gardner’s blog, you know what I’m talking about here.  My stomach started twisting inside me to see all the open gaping wounds, some deeper and larger than others.  I avoided certain beds when I caught glimpses of their wounds.  When we went into the men’s ward, oh the smells that accost your nostrils!  A mix of betadine, body odor, urine and whatever infected wounds smell like (it’s gross).  I felt my stomach trying to expel its contents into my throat, so I quickly left the ward before I vomited on everything.  I had to stay out of the ward for a while before I could try going inside again.  I’ve been told by Scott and the volunteer missionaries that it’s common even for the most calloused health care workers to feel a bit queasy for a few weeks/months when they visit the wards or help with surgeries.  It’s just such a shock for all the senses.  Will seemed to handle it just fine.  I’m sure I’ll get a little better, but I am the owner of a very weak stomach, so how much I can get better is probably pretty minimal.

Even then, I hope to help out as best I can.  I have hunted, sorted and gathered all the dental supplies that were scattered abroad around the hospital compound and today I plan on trying to figure out the sterilizer.  A few Chadians have mentioned needing dental help or wanting me to look at something.  Sadly, because I don’t have my official paper license with me (it’s sitting in the mail at my house), they can’t advertise any dental care I’m available to do on the radio because the government would have a fit.  Don’t want any problems with the government, so we’re just advertising to the patient’s families and the church members.  So, I’m not sure I’ll be doing very much dental care, except for a few cases, and those will probably just need extractions.  I brought cleaning supplies, but when accidents, death and sore teeth are the bigger problems here, people don’t put value in getting their teeth cleaned.  I might get a few interested people, but it will only be a handful I’m sure.  But even if I don’t get to clean/extract teeth as much as I planned, that’s okay; there are still lots of work to be done here.

The Gardner’s have a huge shipping container that has all sorts of medical supplies and things for their home in it.  It took months for it to finally land on their doorstep (read their blog more if you’re interested in the details), and now we have our work cut out for us.  The house is literally buried in boxes.  We spent the majority of today unloading the shipping container and unpacking the boxes in the house.  When Gardners kept talking about their “container,” I was thinking of a small box… no, this is the kind of container that you see trains carrying… yeah, those huge metal things.  Those things are bigger than you realize.  So much was crammed in there and it’s still not completely unloaded yet!  Needless to say, we will all sleep really, really well tonight.

We wish we could post more pictures of our adventures here, but sadly, Chad has made picture-taking illegal unless you get a permit.  Some of the missionaries had problems with the police because they were taking pictures of tortoises.  So, most of the pictures that we will show of life outside of the hospital compound were sneakily captured with our iPhones as we nonchalantly pretend to be fiddling on our phones.  So far, no problems.  But this makes sharing pictures really difficult.

Church on Sabbath was interesting and so neat!  Sabbath is my favorite day whenever I am on a mission trip because it’s such a cultural experience and I love seeing how different cultures worship God.  The Chadians love to sing and move with the music.  They don’t have accompaniment, just drums and cymbals (some churches in America would cringe).  All of us volunteer missionaries had a really hard time not laughing when the choir starting singing a religious song to the tune of “In the Jungle” from the Lion King!  We all looked at each other and tried stifling our giggles.  I wish I knew their words to it.  Most likely it’s a common African tune which is no surprise it was added to the movie.  We enjoyed the rest of the service through translation.

I believe I’m becoming a real Chadian… riding a moto (small motorcycle) in a skirt.  It’s a challenge to do but I think I’m getting the hang of it!  See, in Chad, it is improper for ladies to show their knees, so to hoist yourself onto a moto while keeping your skirt or dress below the knee is a little challenging, then add on a bag or two from the market that you are holding, and it makes it even more difficult, but I somehow today managed all this and stayed completely modest.  I felt like a pro as I rode behind the driver with a bag in hand and my skirt blowing in the breeze.  It is pure joy to ride on a moto.  If I were a male Chadian that would be the career I would choose.  It is so hot at times, and yet, on a moto, it refreshes me with the breeze. 

Tomorrow is our first year anniversary!  Can’t believe it’s been a year!  Surely, it has been the most blissful and happy year of married life that either of us could imagine.  Because Will is leaving early tomorrow to head down to the refugee camps south of here, we don’t have anything spectacular planned, which is fine, because we had a little celebration at Olive Garden before we left for Africa, well knowing we may not be able to do anything here.  It will be fun to later tell our children about our first year anniversary in Africa!  We look forward to eternity together.

We were able to talk to our parents today, which was so nice and I’m sure a relief to them.  We only have about 2 more weeks left before we leave.  Thank you all for the continued prayers.  

Jolene on a moto with Scott taking a Sabbath ride

Our ride to church... we fit 22 people in this thing

Church service Chadian style

First days in Chad

We are pleased to let everyone know that we are safely in Chad.   Praise the Lord!

The flights went well, with no major complications.  It was somewhat of an adventure finding our flight in the Ethiopian Airport.  It is slightly more chaotic than an American airport.  When we arrived at the Chadian airport they were doing temperature checks as you walked in, to keep Ebola from entering.  It is good to see that they are taking those precautions.

The part I was most nervous about was going through customs and the arrival of our checked bags.  If our stuff didn’t arrive it was no big deal, but we had three 50 lb totes full of supplies for the Gardner’s, and our suitcase included another 20 pounds of their supplies (A special thank you to St. Joe’s for medical supplies, Allison Hays for the French books, and many others).  The medical supplies are quite valuable and much needed in Chad.  After some broken English with the customs official and a little confusion over my address in Chad I went through without a problem.  As I walked through I was praying for the arrival of our totes.  The Lord abundantly answered that prayer!  Not only had they arrived, but one of the baggage men had already gotten all 3 of them loaded on a cart.  He walked right up to me when I arrived and asked me if they were mine.  I guess because the bags were marked from Seattle and I was white it was a pretty safe guess.  I then gave him my fourth baggage tag, and he proceeded to get that for me as I waited by the totes and looked for Jolene to get through customs.

Now we were in N’djamena, not Moundou yet.  2 days of travel thus far and we wouldn’t actually arrive in Moundou for another day.  A local Chadian, Abraham, met us outside the airport.  He was already there and had a sign with Jolene’s name.  He is a godsend.  He had the taxi for us, took us to the TEAM Mission to unload our bags, got us registered with the police, and changed another $100 into Chadian Francs.  The TEAM Mission was wonderful.  It even had a TV.  We watched “Gifted Hands” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” as Jolene fought falling asleep in the chair (It was still early evening in Chad and we wanted to force ourselves to adjust for jet-lag quickly).

The next morning we took a 7 hour bus ride to Moundou.  Everything went smoothly.  The bus driver tried to tell us something during the halfway stop, but we don’t speak French and he didn’t speak English.  We just stayed on the bus and eventually got to Moundou.  Bekki was already there waiting for us with their ambulance.  Two other volunteers, Nick and Kelsey, were also there.  They both just graduated from nursing school and are doing a year of volunteer work with the Gardner’s.

Now that we arrived, actually being helpful here is a whole other challenge.  It’s easy to feel inadequate here.  It takes a few weeks to get oriented to a new job in the States, and here everything is quite different.  The Gardner’s seemed very happy with the medical supplies, so if we do nothing else at least we did that I guess.

Bekki mostly wanted me here to help her with her physiotherapy.  For those of you who don’t already know, much of what they do is orthopedic surgeries (mostly fractures from motorcycle accidents).  I am hopeful that with God’s grace I will be able to provide her some help.  The difficult part is that what they do it more like acute PT and I specialize mostly in outpatient PT, and then the situation here is much different than any PT setting in the States.  They can have patients here for months.  But often that is due to persistent infections and repeated surgeries, so from a PT standpoint they are kind of stuck in the acute stage.  And of course PT school doesn’t place any focus on how to treat in Africa.  One blessing in disguise with the difficulty here is that it makes me acutely aware of the necessity of prayer.

The first day in Moundou Bekki took me around and showed me her PT patients, but we didn’t do much treatment.  We got the supplies somewhat organized for Gardner’s, ate dinner, and had worship.  The Gardner’s have been trying to get a shipping crate for months and they had, and still have, a lot to deal with in regards to that.

Yesterday was our first full day here.  You may make a plan for the day, but here you never really know what a day is going to be like.  Scott said that another missionary described their work schedule as something like: 7:00 worship, 7:30 breakfast, 8:00 start rounds, 8:01 all hell breaks loose.  We did rounds in the morning, ate breakfast, brought a boy to the handicap center, and then I got a moto (motorcycle taxi) to the market to get credit for our phone.  The boy’s name is Franklin.  He has been at the hospital for months.  He had multiple surgeries done on his leg, and then a week ago finally had to have it amputated.   We went to the handicap center to have them assess him.  They said that they should be able to make a prosthetic limb after he is healed.  The center was quite nice.  $50/month for therapy, with free housing!  They have parallel bars, bikes, practice stairs, and more!  They even had a poster up for the McKenzie Method (PT’s will understand that).

In the afternoon Bekki and I were able to do our physiotherapy treatments.    Jolene helped out.  We also had another volunteer, Patricia, arrive and help with PT.  She is starting medical school in March, and will be here for 7 weeks.  That will include the time that the Gardner’s will be gone on vacation.   I think the PT went ok.  Bekki is already doing great work here.  She is getting people up and moving, and that is really 90% of what you can do.  We added exercises for some patients and started or progressed mobility training on a few.  I still need to pray that my trip will be worth it for Bekki.

We had 2 other guests here on Thursday and Friday.  They are working for an aid organization.  Right now they are doing stuff (I’m not exactly sure what) in 3 refugee camps in Southern Chad.  They have already gathered medical information on many of the refugees and need to figure out the next step.  Many of them may eventually end up either at the Centre Adventiste here or the handicap center in Moundou.  They have asked me to come down with them to help with that.  It would mean that I’d be gone from Monday-Wednesday.  I’m excited about the opportunity and unless something changes in the next 2 days I plan on going with them.  It will allow me to personally help a lot of people in a short time, and I don’t think it will interfere much with how much I can help Bekki.  Most of what I can do for Bekki will probably be within the first few days of doing PT with her, and as I said she already seems to be doing good work.  It would be great if eventually she got a PT here for a few months (enough time to really get settled in and figure out what works best).  I will get into more detail about the PT here in a future post.  

Thank you everyone for your prayers, and thank you to everyone who provided supplies and money for the trip!

                                                      On the way to Moundou (Bus)

                                            Our Room in Moundou (For the first few days)

                                                               1st day of PT treatments

                                                        TEAM Mission & Taxi (N'Djamena)

Mission to Chad

Hi there!  We're sure the reason you're on this blog site is because you are interested, concerned, and/or curious about what this trip is all about.  First, let's introduce ourselves.

This blog was originally started by Jolene, who did a short mission trip to India and Thailand at the beginning of 2012.  If you're interested in reading about her adventures there, just check out the posts from January/February of that year.  We are now going to use this same blog to post about our adventures together, as a couple, in the mission field.

We are Seventh-day Adventists, a newly married couple (we will celebrate our first year anniversary in Africa!) with a passion for ministry.  Will is a physical therapist and I am a recently graduated dental hygienist. 

Some friends of ours, Scott and Becki Gardner, recently moved to Moundou, Chad (pronounced "moon-doo"), to lead the Moundou Surgical Center Hospital. Scott is a surgeon and Becki is a registered nurse. We received a call from Becki several months ago, and she proceeded to, shall we say, beg us to come over to their center and help Becki set up a PT program there. She also said that they could use some dental work there as well.  We prayed long and hard about it, for we weren't sure we could fit in a trip to Africa, what with my graduating, my sister's wedding this same summer, a trip to New York to see Will's family and the possibility of us moving.  Adding in a trip to Africa seemed like a crazy idea, but we promised Becki we would pray about it. After a time of prayer, we decided to go ahead and plan a short trip over there in between our move and Will's first day of work. Since making that decision, multiple emails have been exchanged with the Gardner's and plans have been underway. God blessed us immensely with several donations and extremely supportive churches and friends. We felt God's leading all the way through.

So what exactly are we planning on doing over there? I used the word "planning" for a reason, because really, we could end up doing anything over there (read: change dressings, wound care, surgery assistants, cooking, you name it). But, what we are planning on doing over there is this: Will is going to use his expert PT skills to assist Becki in improving her physical therapy program, give Becki and the staff a crash course on PT techniques, bring supplies and assess what other supplies they may need.  I (Jolene) will be doing dental cleanings and extractions and whatever other dental care and I can provide. The access to dental care is minimal, if not nonexistent, in most rural regions. Although I have no formal training in teeth extractions, I am the most qualified to do them in Moundou.  I have picked the brain of a dentist friend of mine and have practiced techniques on a dentoform (fake mouth with teeth) and successfully extracted one of those plastic teeth completely by accident, but hey, I know my technique works, right? Either way, the people there won't care a bit about my qualifications and will just be most happy to have their dental concern(s) pulled out. I am ready for anything (famous last words).

We will be leaving for Africa this upcoming Monday (11th) and will be back in the US by September 3, not quite a month.  This is Will's first mission trip and my fourth.  Neither of us have been to Africa so we are both super excited to experience the culture and minister to the people there as best we can.  If you're interested in reading more about Gardner's ministry in Africa, check out their blog at http://gardners2koza.wordpress.com/.

Now, to calm some nerves a bit, let me discuss a few concerning things that have been presented to us. Literally every single person who has talked with us recently has inevitably asked, "what about the Ebola outbreak in Africa?? Are you safe? " A valid question, to be sure. We have done our share of research and would like to let you know that, as of today, no cases of Ebola have been recorded in Chad. The countries that are suffering worst are west of us. Even with this information, we are still  choosing to take extra precautions to protect ourselves. We are also taking medication to help protect us against malaria while we are there, and it is comforting to know that we are at a hospital where we can receive care quickly and from people we trust.

Thank you to all who have supported us with prayers and finances.  We hope that you will be blessed by reading of our time there and we look forward to sharing our experiences with some of you in person.  Until then, au revoir!  Let the adventure begin!

Thankfulness

On this day, when millions of Americans gorge themselves on the best of their "crops", when they push back from the table to discretely undo their belts and pant buckles, when people count their blessings and practice thankfulness, when families are together celebrating life, liberty and happiness, when all I see on Facebook is "Happy Thanksgiving" or something rather close to it, when across the nation there is a widespread feeling of thankfulness...

...I grasp for something profound to say that hasn't already been said.  And I fail miserably.

So instead of searching my brain for something profound, I will instead just focus on enjoying the moment.

~Happy Thanksgiving everyone~

My Father

Know what's worse than missing someone when they're not with you?

Missing someone when they are with you.

That's how I felt this past weekend whenever I looked at my dad.  Sure, he's there physically right in front of me.  But, I feel like he's missing.  Cancer has a way of doing that to people.

He has to sleep propped up on a recliner in the living room now because he can't breath well at night.  Poor mom, all alone in that big bed.  Wouldn't be surprised if she's sleeping on the couch next to him.

Dad doesn't talk much now.  His talking is usually interrupted by fits of coughing.  He can't talk loud or long.  What's worse... he can't sing.  Singing is our love, our family tradition, our ministry, our joy.  When dad sings with his girls, he just beams.  But now, he'll have to just play the guitar for us while we sing.

The Lord's prayer is not quite as good without dad's strong male voice ushering a sense of awe.

It's just hard to go home now to see my family and feel like part of the household is missing.  A piece is gone.  Dad is still here, but he's not the same dad that I've always known.  He shows more pain, admits his frailty more readily, and surrenders his tasks more often to the able hands of his wife or daughters.

But, he's still dad.

He was outside in the chilly morning air planting bulbs.  He can still impress even himself with his guitar playing.  He gets the heartiest laughs at the dinner table.  He would pause a moment to lovingly pet one of the cats.  He is still shy around people.

Some things never change.

Although a part of my dad is missing, he is still the wonderful father that God gave me.  God did a an amazing thing when He wrought my father in the womb.

He shall be a man of quiet strength.  He shall know when to speak and when to be silent.  He shall "provide things honest in the sight of all men."  He shall have a high sense of morality, responsibility, honesty and unwavering loyalty.  He shall have a faith as solid as stone.  He shall be a man of integrity.  He shall have and impart wisdom.  He shall be called, "beloved."

***********************************************

Please join me in praying for my father, that God would provide a quite peace to flood his soul.  It would be our greatest desire for God to heal him, but we also know that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  He is in control.  

I remember a night many years ago, when I complained to my father about a lingering hip displacement that was causing me much pain and agony.  I told him my woes and asked, "why do I have this problem?  Why won't God just fix me?"  My dad paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then carefully replied with, "though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.*"

That made a profound impression on my young mind.

And now, as my dad battles his worst enemy, he is a living example of the very words he uttered that night so many years ago.  Although his modesty compels him to stay silent, I speak from witnessing him, that he believes those words.  He has that kind of trust.

And again, I'm profoundly impressed.

*Job 13:15

Sabbath Rest

It has come.

I knew it would sneak up on me quicker than I anticipated.  And it did.

School has a way of doing that to you.

I can't believe it.  I'm actually in the program I've been pursuing; the program I've been aiming at for over 3 years now.  My goal is becoming a reality.  And I'm still dazed.

I was walking across campus today from having spent a few hours studying in the library, when I happened to look down and notice the scrubs I was wearing.  How can I describe the excitement that bubbled up in me?  Wow.  I'm in my dental hygiene program.  I'm actually in.

God is good.

But now I must add that this isn't any easy program I've begun.  Never did I realize how much anatomy is hidden in the oral cavity.  And trying to learn each tooth by a numeric system is incredibly challenging.  Just wait till I learn all the facial bones, muscles, circulator system and nerves.  And how about trying to learn all that, while also trying to learn how to take a perfect radiograph (x-ray) of the teeth, probe around your patient's mouth without jabbing them, and hold a mirror in your non-dominant hand.  Oh, I know it's possible.  Lots of hygienists have done it in the past.  My respect for them has tripled, to say the least.

My 5 other classmates - all girls ranging from 20 to 26 - are just as excited.  Yet, our enthusiasm seemed to quickly get smothered under the heavy load of books to read, assignments to complete, and exams to take.  I hear more sighs; I see more yawns; I hear more groans.  I try to remind myself of how blessed I am to be in this program.  Of how blessed I am to be learning all this.  Of what a help I'll be to people who need oral care.  Then, the book load isn't so heavy, the assignments not so burdensome, the exams not so tedious.

And, once in a while, when my screensaver kicks on as my computer dozes, I see pictures of India.  Then, I'm reminded of why I'm doing this.

Already, I've learned so much in the program (and it's only been two weeks!).  So many things I would do differently if I were to be in India again.  I can't imagine how much I'll know after two years of this!

How happy I am to have the Sabbath.  I really need it after an exhausting week of school.

Yet, I had two exams to complete online this weekend.  When I got out of class Friday at noon and realized that I only had a few hours till sundown and that I had hardly had enough time to study for my two exams and that the Sabbath was smack in the middle of my weekend, a sudden feeling of panic enveloped me.  Realizing my predicament, I internally freaked out.

But then, I remembered something.

Before school began, I emailed my lead professor and explained to her about my Sabbath and my desire to honor that day by abstaining from doing or thinking of school on my rest day.  I politely asked if there were any exams, assignments, field trips or the like that would fall on my Sabbath and would she please let me know ahead of time so I could make arrangements if necessary.  She replied sweetly that they would do their absolute best to work with me.

She then forwarded my email to several of my other online professors.  I then later found out that all the professors had gotten together and planned out their schedules to that all the exams and assignments would not be on Saturday, or would be over a two-day period so as to allow me to make each deadline.  Wow.  Isn't God good?!

So, I was talking with one of my classmates Friday about the weekend.  I made mention of how I would have to leave the library at 3 to get some things done before sundown and wouldn't be able to study till Saturday night.  She is familiar with SDA's and she asked me, "is it because of your Sabbath?"  I replied the affirmative.  She commented, "that's so cool that you just take a whole day of your week and not even think about school.  You must feel so refreshed after it."

I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it feeling a bit of shame.  How could I ignore the beautiful truth of the Sabbath rest?  She was right.

So I laid my plans for the weekend at His feet, knowing that He would bless my desire to keep His Sabbath holy.  I claimed His promises and entered into the Sabbath hours with nary a burden.  And I had a wonderful Sabbath indeed.

And guess what?  I got both my exams done Sunday morning bright and early.  What a relief.

"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath..." 

Success!

After so long of planning this health expo with the Kamiah church, we finally did it!  Wow.  What a wonderful feeling!

We did it during BBQ days, so we had a constant flow of people coming through the lines.  105 people filled out the questionnaire, but more went through than that.  Probably had around 130 people go through our health screening stations!  Praise the Lord!

Welcoming people

Find out your health age! 

So many people, we were sometimes backlogged! 

Will administering the step test to check fitness level

Volunteers resting!

Blood pressure station

Kerri aiding a lady through the BMI station

Blood glucose and cholesterol station

Will giving advice to a woman

Filling out the questionnaires

The step test station was popular to young and old!

What a blessed opportunity!  Some of our staff got to pray with people and several invitations to join us for church were given.  The majority of people were really interested and open-minded.  We not only gave them helpful advice on how to have better health, but we made loving contact with our community.

Yay for health evangelism!